Searching for Chameleon Dark Energy with Mechanical Systems

Abstract

A light scalar field framework of dark energy, sometimes referred to as quintessence, introduces a fifth force between normal matter objects. Screening mechanisms, such as the chameleon model, allow the scalar field to be almost massless on cosmological scales while simultaneously evading laboratory constraints. We explore the ability of mechanical systems available in the near term to directly detect the fifth force associated with chameleon dark energy. We provide analytical expressions for the weakest accessible chameleon model parameters in terms of experimentally tunable variables and apply our analysis to two mechanical systems: levitated microspheres and torsion balances, showing that the current generation of these experiments have the sensitivity to rule out a significant portion of the proposed chameleon parameter space. We also indicate regions of theoretically well-motivated chameleon parameter space to guide future experimental work.

arXiv comment11 pages, 7 figures

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• Screened Scalar Fields in the Laboratory and the Solar System
• Dark Matter Searches with Levitated Sensors
• Dynamical Casimir effect with screened scalar fields
• Quantum and thermal pressures from light scalar fields
• Equivalence of scalar-tensor theories and scale-dependent gravity
• Mechanical cosmology: simulating scalar fluctuations in expanding Universes using synthetic mechanical lattices
• Quintessence-Chameleon transitions in anisotropic Kiselev model of neutron stars